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Singapore has used RAFAEL’s LITENING surveillance and targeting pods on its F-16s for a number of years. In 2006, however, the city-state elected to equip its new F-15SG Strike Eagles with Lockheed Martin’s long-range Sniper ATP pods instead. Now the MINDEF has decided to add Sniper ATP pods to its 2-seat Lockheed Martin F-16D Block 52+ fighters, which may become part of a broader F-16 modernization drive.
The contract was undertaken as a direct commercial sale, instead of a Foreign Military Sale required for items classified as war materiel/”munitions”. The contract includes integration, spares, support equipment and integrated logistics support, and the pods will begin delivery in 2010. Contract values were not disclosed. Lockheed Martin release.
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Lockheed Martin has orders for Sniper ATPs from 9 international customers (Belgium, Britain – Harriers only, may add Tornado aircraft, Canada, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and of course Singapore), and from the USAF, whose F-15E Strike Eagles have found them very useful in Iraq. RAFAEL/Northrop Grumman’s LITENING pod family had defined this market for a long time thanks to its affordable pricing and a wide feature set, and it is still receiving international orders as Northrop Grumman prepares to roll out a 4th generation version. Lockheed’s Sniper ATP appears to be mounting a very strong bid to secure future leadership in this segment, however, and the total value of its 2001 USAF contract alone could exceed $850 million.
